Monday, July 21, 2008

Quilt in the Works - Happy Hour Update

So. Here's what's been happening with the quilt I recently started:

Monday 7th - Made two test blocks. Calculated cutting dimensions. Cut Pieces from WOF strips.

Tuesday 8th - Cut more pieces from WOF strips that were directional.


Friday 11th - Cut pieces from FQ and whole squares (VERY directional fabrics).


Monday 14th - Finished cutting last few blocks.


Resulting in this pile of pieces:


I know it would be "easier" to just have one set of cutting dimensions, but I prefer to get the most use out of my yardage, that and I just plain like doing the math! Doing several different cutting scenarios also wound up breaking the cutting into more manageable bites... I cut 81 blocks (80 for the quilt and 1 for me).

Tuesday 15th - Next up, matching the fabrics into their blocks:


Just about every fabric will have two blocks backgrounds in the quilt. There are three "windows" of one fabric, and a few fabrics will have one window.


There were just a few fabrics that didn't want to "work" with this quilt, they were almost all batiks. It would have been a little easier if I'd had a few more lights in the quilt. I prefer to have good contrast in my blocks, but I had enough medium and darks that not all of the blocks have the best contrast.

Wednesday 16th - Starting to sew some of the blocks. 26 done, 55 to go.


Monday 21st - Finished 14 more blocks and started another pile.

Already I can see some of my "favorite blocks" coming together. Isn't it true that every project has some units you just love more than others!

The project is moving MUCH slower than I'd hoped due to the fact that I hurt my back and after four weeks of trying to "ignore it", I've realized I need to rest and ice and drug it. As a result, I'm pretty loopy much of the time. When I'm honest about my pain level, sitting at the sewing machine isn't easy. It actually makes me cry (literally) though, because I want to be sewing and "doing things" instead of sitting, A LOT. Anyway, that's why I've not been bloging... not much is going on, and I'm loopy from the medication, and typing on the PC winds up hurting my back too.

Okay. Enough whining! Here's a picture of one of my "helpers" to lay out the blocks... Zagawuki.


Jack also was helping to pick fabrics to go together. At first, he kept putting the same fabrics together, then I got him mixing them up a bit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's adorable! What kind of dog is he? And I'm guessing that the name is from Star Wars?

SuzyQSparkles said...

At just over six pounds (and four months old) we say "he's a movie prop from 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids'; he's a German Shepard". People laugh and shake their heads (and a few actually believe he's a new mini-Shepard breed!) In reality, he's a Pound Puppy that is probably a Chihuahua Mix.

He was named by our three year old, Jack. We wanted the cats and dogs to have the names "Zig, Zag, Zoom" to go along with a kids' song we listen to. So, the puppy needed a "Zag" name and since it was to be his dog, Jack came up with "Zagawuki".

While it is tempting to call him a "Wookie", the "U" sounds like a double "oo", like "boo" or "zoo". The U is definitely the long vowel in his name.

It's actually pretty funny when people ask his name and Jack tells them, they always look to me to figure out what his name "really" is. When I confirm his name is "zag-ah-woo-kee" they can't believe we let a three year old name his own dog. I think kids are incredibly creative and we just have to allow and encourage it!

People also tend to be amazed that the dog knows and comes to his name! And they've told me that his name is bigger than he is. When I want to simplify, I call him "Zaggle Waggle", because he's such a happy pup. :D